No more than 1 rooster per house, says city

Nancy Reynolds holds a Modern Game Chicken chick in the backyard of her Sylmar home, where her brood includes 40 to 50 roosters. The City Council just voted to allow people to keep only one rooster per home. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer)

Rooster ranks capped

The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Tuesday to limit rooster ownership, in an effort to control noise and help police prevent cockfighting.

The new ordinance restricts people to owning one rooster per property, although those who already have multiple birds can keep up to three for now.

“It was the police who first came to me and said they needed help to deal with the gangs and all the cockfighting that was going on,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who authored the proposal that was approved on a 12-0 vote.

“It was only afterward that people started to tell me about the noise problems. It’s horrible in some areas.”

Those who currently have multiple roosters can pay a one-time fee of $50 each to keep up to two additional birds, but cannot replace them when they die.

“This is a quality-of-life issue,” said Hahn, who has been working on the proposal for two years. “It gives a tool to law enforcement and it will try to control the noise from roosters.”

Linda Barth of the Department of Animal Services said the city has had problems because there has been no law on the books regarding roosters and there are some areas where hundreds of them are bred for fighting.

“Our biggest animal cruelty issues are dogfighting and cockfighting,” Barth said. “This will help us and help the police in dealing with this.”

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who owns a rooster and several hens and is known for bringing fresh eggs to his colleagues, said he recognized the conflict.

“I love the sounds the roosters make, it’s music to my ears,” Rosendahl said. “But not everyone feels that way. The fact of the matter is roosters do not belong in an urban environment.”

The measure exempts breeders and agricultural areas but is still undergoing some minor reviews to exempt 4-H Club members from the fees and to create a special fund to make sure the money collected will go to enforce anti-cockfighting laws.